CHÁVEZ’S DEATH MET WITH ANGUISH AND FEAR

Venezuelans stunned by loss of firebrand leader

Some in anguish, some in fear, Venezuelans raced for home and stocked up on food and water Tuesday after the government announced the death of President Hugo Chávez, the firebrand socialist who led the nation for 14 years.

Vice President Nicolás Maduro’s voice broke and tears ran down his face as he appeared on national television to announce that Chávez, 58, died at 4:25 p.m. local time (12:55 p.m. PST) “after battling hard against an illness over nearly two years.”

He did not say what exactly killed Chávez, who was diagnosed with an undisclosed type of cancer nearly two years ago, although the government had announced the previous night that a severe new respiratory infection had seriously weakened him.

In Washington, President Barack Obama said the U.S. stands by the Venezuelan people “at this challenging time” and is interested in “developing a constructive relationship” in the post-Chávez era.

The president’s comments came despite Venezuela’s expulsion earlier Tuesday of two military attachés assigned to the U.S. Embassy in Caracas. Maduro accused the men of spying and gave them 24 hours to leave the country. The Pentagon denied the accusation.

Earlier in the day, Maduro said “we have no doubt” that Chávez’s cancer, which was first diagnosed in June 2011, was induced by “the historical enemies of our homeland.”

A few hours after Chávez’s death, Foreign Minister Elías Jaua said Maduro would be interim president and then be the ruling party’s candidate to carry on Chávez’s populist “revolution” in elections to be called within 30 days.

In announcing the death of the former army paratrooper who wielded Venezuela’s oil wealth to benefit the poor and win friends regionally, Maduro called on Venezuelans to be “dignified heirs of the giant man” Chávez was.

The government declared seven days of mourning and closed all schools and universities until next Monday.

All across downtown Caracas, shops and restaurants began closing and Venezuelans hustled for home, some even breaking into a run.

Many had looks of anguish and incredulity on their faces.

“I feel a sorrow so big I can’t speak,” said Yamilina Barrios, a 39-year-old clerk who works in the Industry Ministry, her face covered in tears. “He was the best this country had.”

“I hope the country calms down and continues the work that he left us, continues in unity and the progress continues,” Barrios said.

Among the nervous was Maria Elena Lovera, a 45-year-old housewife. “I want to go home. People are crazy and are way too upset.”

There were several incidents of political violence.

In one, a group of masked, helmeted men on motorcycles, some brandishing revolvers, attacked about 40 students who had been protesting for more than a week near the Supreme Court building to demand the government give more information about Chávez’s health.

The attackers, who didn’t wear clothing identifying any political allegiance, burned the students’ tents and scattered their food just minutes after the death was announced.

Outside the military hospital where Chávez’s remains were visited by loved ones and confederates, an angry crowd attacked a Colombian TV reporter.

“They beat us with helmets, with sticks, men, women, adults,” Carmen Andrea Rengifo said on RCN TV. Video images showed her bleeding above the forehead but she was not seriously injured.

Maduro and other government officials have recently railed against international media for allegedly reporting rumors about Chávez’s health.

After nightfall, several hundred people gathered at Bolívar Square, a symbolic place for Chávistas because it has a 30-foot-tall statue of Simón Bolívar, the 19th-century independence hero who Chávez claimed as his chief inspiration.

Some arrived singing Venezuela’s national anthem and holding up posters of Chávez. Many chanted “I am Chávez,” which had been a campaign slogan of the president.

Chávez, though, also deeply divided this country of 29 million.

He was able to take control of the courts, the congress and all other institutions, while forcing some of his toughest opponents into exile.

He called his critics part of a “corrupt elite” that wanted to sack Venezuela, though polls showed that nearly 50 percent of voters here opposed his rule.

Nonetheless, Chávez leaves behind a political movement firmly in control of the nation, but with some doubt about how a new leadership will be formed.

Venezuela’s defense minister appeared on television to announce that the military will remain loyal to the constitution in the wake of Chávez’s death.

Chávez’s inner circle has long claimed the United States was behind a failed 2002 attempt to overthrow him, and he frequently played the anti-American card to stir up support. Venezuela has been without a U.S. ambassador since July 2010 and expelled another U.S. military officer in 2006.